Open Source Hardware (Case studies)

[Dakota Hamill]

Has anyone come across any case studies of businesses that have adhered to the open source model and shared all the nitty gritty details of creating, manufacturing, pricing, and selling an open source product for a profit? 

I came across an interesting talk a while back 

Open Hardware Dr. Pearce

Which was then followed by someone who wrote a book on the topic 

Open Hardware Basics and Business Alicia Gibb

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Open-Source-Hardware-Manufacturing/dp/0321906047

I know Adafruit and Sparkfun have done pretty well, but it seems like open source fits well with electrical engineering.  Arduino is now closed source?  MakerBot was a big one in the early days to go closed once they took money. 

This open source bioreactor is cool and is the type of product I'd be interested in seeing a case study on.  https://pioreactor.com

More interested in the science-hardware side of things but wondering of any other examples I've not been able to find.  Seems like there's a lot of individual projects but very few "DIYBio" style companies at the size/scale of AdaFruit or Sparkfun. 

I get that transistors are much cheaper and easier to store than enzymes. 

[Hans]

Now THIS is what this mostly dead google groups is about. 

My colleague just got the bioreactor, and it's been pretty amazing as a chemostat to study the effects of doubling time. Really great build.

I remember getting all the enzymes from one of the guys that started the OpenBioeconomy lab (think it was called FreeGenes back then?). But as an individual without a -80C, it's really hard to keep shit going... I packed up my DIY lab a long time ago and rejoined academia to scratch that itch.

I think any Opensauce has to have a financial drive behind it. Someone has to be able to make money off it to keep things going. Otherwise they all just... peter out. 

Also, any of you on the DIYbio discord?

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-Hans T. Wilms

[Dakota Hamill]

I thought Keoni Gandal (Spelling) was doing FreeGenes a while back.  I hear you on the other fronts. I bought 2 Pioreactors and gave them away, rest of lab is in a storage unit, headed back to academia.  Startup life teaches you a lot but rarely pays the bills.  

What's the discord server link? 

If anyone ever wants to apply to YCombinator some day and tackle one of their calls for biotech companies, let me know. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/CAFpMOiQQyCxpT-w5e44Mke8GazubxpnN8pSfD4dxS4Cw-fLNFg%40mail.gmail.com.

[S James Parsons Jr]

opulo LumenPnP

[Dakota Hamill]

Very cool piece of open hardware and nice documentation.  Electrical engineering seems to be where open source shines. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/B3E9E8A6-B60A-4598-8140-A50A292D22EF%40gmail.com.

[Hans]

https://discord.gg/55uXhnHgy

That's the DIYBio discord. It's more active than this, but not very.

What were you trying to do with DIYbio? I wanted to manufacture super cheap enzymes for other DIYBio people. It was Keoni doing the FreeGenes stuff, but I think that's dead too.

What do you guys think killed the DIYbio movement?

-Hans Wilms

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/CAGdeWmS%3DvJZyYCajsY%3Dd_z9OiZ0kXdS7ebbzoWVgcDENJJoRcA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dakota Hamill]

In my personal experience everyone I met started with or became interested in the DIYBio movement from a place of passion and creative curiosity.  The DIY aspect was attractive to me because, not everyone gets invited inside the ivory tower of academia or has access to R1 schools and labs.  Just because you aren't a mechanic for a NASCAR or Formula 1 team doesn't mean you can't buy a junk car and some tools and tinker in your garage. 

To me DIYBio was allowing access to "do science" outside of the normal places you do science.  What you're able to learn should be delinked from age and resources, though it often isn't.  Doing science is expensive.  The tools are expensive, the reagents are expensive, and proper space is expensive.  Over time that bleeds you dry. And yes, I know it can be done "on the cheap". 

The "open" aspect of sharing went away after taking investor money in my case.  And then once you can no longer live at your parents, bills start piling up to live, and hobbies generally don't pay the bills.  So you grow up and get a job and have less time to tinker for the sake of it.  Big props to the people that were able to make viable businesses, if even for short periods of time, in this space. 

I met some amazing people in person and online from this list and still keep in touch with a number of them!

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/CAFpMOiR%2BSBN9Dv42yoMaCwE2fM65G7X1UcL0sSG%2BgP-%2BA2_DBA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dakota Hamill]

And speaking of Open Hardware 2026 https://www.youtube.com/live/naQz1KVqQF0?si=p7ZFxv2SPlfdwD1h&t=1

[John Griessen]

On 5/14/26 17:19, Dakota Hamill wrote:
> More interested in the science-hardware side of things but wondering of any other examples I've not been able to find.  Seems like
> there's a lot of individual projects but very few "DIYBio" style companies at the size/scale of AdaFruit or Sparkfun.
>
> I get that transistors are much cheaper and easier to store than enzymes.

I did an electroporator design up to the testing stage with funding from 6 kickstarter backers and $2k from Bryan Bishop.
It's open hardware published on github at https://github.com/kanzure/culture_shock.

It is physically in only two prototypes, I have one and Nathan McCorkle has one. The six kickstarter backers would not contribute
any time testing and it stalled out for lack of a complete enclosure -- it needed a laptop just to turn on -- no buttons for setup
and fire...

So, I worked for 6 months for $3k and didn't get to a viable product. Case study complete.

Now aiming at RV solar PV battery appliance designs like: on demand teapot, DC microwave oven, DC refrigerators, etc where the
wiring between solar PV panel and battery bank is small gauge, easy to wire into a house, easy to repair, and the controller
manages batteries of most any kind individually so the user can change them out by messages like "replace cell D8", "cell B3 now
has 2 Ampere hours, half its original capacity".

Now I'm not planning to release any of those until having a good way to make plastic moldings in 100's. So I'm designing molding
equipment also. The 3DP machines have matured and many are available for cheap, so maybe I'll use some of that for enclosure
production, but still thinking it will be by 3D printed MOLDS filled by low pressure injection of thermoplastic and with fairly
visible mold parting lines done slowly, automated, so the temperatures of the mold go up and down for molding and release. It
needs a cheap automated part eject/remove/stack robot also. Anyone heard of progress along those lines so I could buy small
plastic moldings in the 100's for about a dollar a piece, instead of make?

--
John Griessen
Albuquerque NM